Ballast reaction rail clamps

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to rail reaction clamps, for tamping machines, which prevent the derailing of the tamping machine when the tamping heads downfeed into &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;cemented&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; ballast which provides too much resistance for the tamping head to penetrate. On encountering such ballast, the action of the tamping head is to lift the tamping machine from the rails and the clamps of the invention counter that tendency and assist in the penetration of the ballast by the heads.

United States Patent 9] von Beckmann [451 July 22, 1975 BALLAST REACTION RAIL CLAMPS [75] Inventor: Helmuth von Beckmann, Columbia,

[73] Assignee: Canron Inc., Phillipsburg, NJ.

[22] Filed: Dec. 13, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 424,279

[52] US. Cl. 104/12 [51] Int. Cl EOlb 27/17 [58] Field of Search 104/7, 8, 12, 7 B, 7 R; 37/104 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,545,384 12/1970 Plasser et al. 104/12 3,589,296 6/1971 Plasser et al. 104/12 9/1971 Stewart 104/12 2/l972 von Beckmann 104/l2 Primary ExaminerM. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch [57] ABSTRACT The invention relates to rail reaction clamps, for tamping machines, which prevent the derailing of the tam'ping machine when the tamping heads downfeed into cemented ballast which provides too much resistance for the tamping head to penetrate. On encountering such ballast, the action of the tamping head is to lift the tamping machine from the rails and the clamps of the invention counter that tendency and assist in the penetration of the ballast by the heads.

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 BALLAST REACTION RAIL CLAMPS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to rail reaction clamps for tamping machines.

A problem exists, particularly with light tamping-machines, in ballast penetration by vibration type tamping heads when highly compacted or fouled" ballast conditions are encountered on a railroad track. If the tamping head does not have sufficient weight by itself to penetrate the fouled ballast, the down-feeding tamping head can act to actually lift the tamping machine up and derail it.

There has been a prior suggestion to mount a laxy tongs type gripper, with lost motion, in the vicinity of the tamping heads. As a tendency occurred to lift the machine from the track, as a result of the tamping head encountering highly compacted ballast, the lost motion wouldbe taken up and the lazy tongs clamp would engage the rail and stop the tamping machine from being derailed.

This previous solution suffers from certain drawbacks, a first of which is that the machine must undergo a certain amount of lifting before the lazy tongs lost motion is taken up sufficiently to cause the laxy tongs clamp to engage the rail. This causes a certain period of instability of the machine and indeed the machine may be derailed before the clamp engages. A second drawback is that the lazy tongs arrangement is unsuitable for mounting, because of its peculiar shape, on anything but a particular type of machine configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to overcome these drawbacks and limitations by providing a device which has near universal application and which can be operated prior to any tendency to derail the machine from the tracks.

According to the present invention there is provided a tamping machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a tamping head mounted on the chassis, for penetration of railroad track ballast; rail gripping means on the machine chassis; and operator operated means for initiating the closing of the rail gripping means.

The present invention also envisages a tamping machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a tamping head, mounted on the chassis for penetration of the railroad track ballast; railroad gripping means on the machine chassis; and actuating means responsive to tamping head downward movement, for initiating the closing of the rail gripping means.

In addition, the present invention comtemplates a tamping machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a tamping head, mounted on the chassis for penetration of the railroad track ballast; a control means for controlling the downfeed of the tamping head; rail gripping means on the machine chassis; and means operatively connected with said control means for initiating the closing of said rail gripping means.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the rail gripping means is retractable upwards away from the rails when not in use.

Again, according to a preferred feature of the invention, the rail gripping means comprises a pair of outside engaging rail clamps, one .foreach rail, and reaction bracket means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGSS DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings. A light tamping machine has a chassis 11 mounted on rail engaging wheels 12. The machine operation is controlled from a control pedestal 14 by an operator who may sit at a seat 15. Between the wheels 12 is a vibratory squeeze type tamping head mounted for up and down movement on a frame 21, fixed to, and forming part of, the chassis 11. Since vibratory squeeze tamping heads and the manner in which they are raised and lowered into and out of the ballast and moved to and fro in a direction to squeeze the ballast, are well known in the art they need not be described herein. Furthermore since the type of tamping head involved does not effect the present invention, theillu stration of the tamping head in FIG. 1 is purely diagramatic.

Mounted on the frame 21 are the rail gripping means 25 which may occupy a number of positions, three of which are shown in FIG. 1. The first position is where the rail gripping means 25 is mounted at the front of the frame 21, the second is where the gripping means 25 is located centrally of the frame 21 and the third, illustrated, is where the gripping means 25 is located at the rear of the frame 21.

The rail gripping means may conveniently comprise a pair of outside gripping rail clamps 26, 27 pivotally mounted at their upper ends 28, 29 to the frame 21. The clamps 26 and 27 are cross-connected by means of a piston and cylinder arrangement 30 of conventional configuration. The piston rods 30p, 30p are pivoted at 31 and 32 to the clamps 26 and 27 respectively. The cylinder preferably carries a reaction bracket or brackets 34 for engaging the inside head of a rail or rails. The piston and cylinder arrangement 30 when operated, by input of hydraulic fluid, to spread the clamps 26 and 27 outwardly, moves upwardly to retract the gripping means as the clamps 26 and 27 rotate about their pivot points 28 and 29, until the clamping means assumes the upward dotted running position shown in FIG. 2.

If desired a guide could be provided to find the center position when engaging the rail.

In FIG. 1 there is diagramatically shown three systems for operating the piston and cylinder means 30 to cause engagement of the rail gripping means 25.

In the first arrangement, when a switch 14s in the head downfeed control means, at the control console 14, is operated to operate solenoid valve to permit the cylinder 41 to dump oil to the tank 42 and thereby let the tamping head 20 fall into the ballast under its own weight, a second valve 45 is also automatically operated by the switch, or one in series therewith, to provide pressure from pump 46 via hydraulic line 48, 49, to cylinder 30 to cause the clamps to close and the piston-cylinder arrangement 30 to decendfrom its track running position, prior to the tamping head encountering the fouled ballast to cause a reaction.

In a second arrangement, a separate switch at the console 14 operates a valve 50 to connect the line 49 to pump 46, when the switch is operated by the operator, thereby closing the clamps 26, 27.

In a third arrangement, as the head 20 is dropped in conventional fashion into the ballast, it, or an extension thereon, passes and operates an actuating means, such as microswitch 55, which in turn operates valve 50 to apply pressure from pump 46 to cylinder 30 to close the clamps.

When, it is desired to terminate the gripping action of the gripping means any suitable means, say for example a switch at the console 14 could be operated to reverse the hydraulic pressure application in the cylinder 30 and thereby cause the piston rods 30p, 30p 1, to extend from the cylinder to rotate the clamps 26 and 27 owtwardly and retract the gripping means to the dotted position seen in FIG. 2.

Since the electrical control of hydraulic devices to raise and lower tamping heads is well known in the art, FIG. 1 and 2 hereof are intended to be diagramatic only.

In operation, when the tamping machine is positioned above a tie to be tamped and the rail gripping means 25 have been engaged to clamp the machine to the track, the rails themselves can be used to overcome ballast resistance and force the tamping heads into the ballast. Since the machine is clamped to the rail any tendency to derail the tamping machine by the tamping head is obviated.

It is to be understood that the term machine chassis as used herinafter in the claims to provide a means upon which the rail gripping means is mounted can be any part of the chassis proper, or frame, or appendage, connected thereto, which will, on operation of the rail gripping means 25, cause the clamping of the machine, rather than a track lifting jack, to the rail.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A tamping machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a tamping head, mounted on the chassis, for penetration of railroad track ballast, rail gripping means on the machine chassis; and actuating means, responsive to tamping head downward movement, for initiating the closing of said rail gripping means.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said actuating means is a switch mounted on the machine and tripped as the tamping head passes the switch.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said switch is tripped by the tamping head itself.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the rail gripping means is retractable upwards away from the rails when not in use.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 in which the rail gripping means comprises a pair of outside engaging rail clamps, one for each rail, and reaction bracket means. i i

6. A ballast working machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a ballast working tool mounted on the chassis, for working of railroad track ballast; rail gripping means on the machine chassis; and actuating means, responsive to working tool downward movement, for initiating the closing of said rail gripping means. 

1. A tamping machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a tamping head, mounted on the chassis, for penetration of railroad track ballast, rail gripping means on the machine chassis; and actuating means, responsive to tamping head downward movement, for initiating the closing of said rail gripping means.
 2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said actuating means is a switch mounted on the machine and tripped as the tamping head passes the switch.
 3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said switch is tripped by the tamping head itself.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the rail gripping means is retractable upwards away from the rails when not in use.
 5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 in which the rail gripping means comprises a pair of outside engaging rail clamps, one for each rail, and reaction bracket means.
 6. A ballast working machine comprising a wheel mounted chassis; a ballast working tool mounted on the chassis, for working of railroad track ballast; rail gripping means on the machine chassis; and actuating means, responsive to working tool downward movement, for initiating the closing of said rail gripping means. 